Log debarking apparatus



Dec. 1, 1964 NORMANTAS LOG DEBARKING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 27, 1 59 ATTORNEY NORMANTAS we DEBARKING APPARATUS Dec. 1, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV- 27, 1959 INVENTOR.

LluDAs NORMA TA'S ATTO R NE Y NOT.

Dec. 1, 1964 NORMANTAS LOG DEBARKING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV- 27, 1959 FIG. 3

INVENTOR N o R M A N TA s Ll UDAS ATTORNEY Dec. 1, 1964 L. NORMANTAS "3,159,192

1.0a DEBARKING APPARATUS Filed Nov 27, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 4

INVENTOR. L1 UDAS NORMANTAS ATTORNEY Dec. 1, 1964 NORMANTAS 3,159,192

LOG DEBARKING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 2'7, 1959 x 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIGS Q MI..-

m' w g? FIG. 6

INVENTOR. LIUDAS NORMANTAS ATTORNEY L. NORMANTAS LOG DEBARKING APPARATUS Dec. 1 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Nov. 27, 1959 JNVENTOR. LIUDAS NORMANTAS ATT RNEY United States Patent 3,159,192 L6G DEEARKING APPARATUS Liudas Normantas, East Hiramlt iaine Filed Nov. 27, 195%, Ser. No. 355,937 1 Claim. (Cl. 144 -242) The present invention relates toapparatus for use in removing the bark from logs and is a continuation-inpart of my co-pending application Serial No. 649,853, filed April 1, 1957, now abandoned.

The removal of the bark from logs is a widely practiced operation and the demand is for log debarking apparatus that not only will be efficient but also that can be constructed, to a large extent, from readily available materials.

In accordance with the invention, such apparatus comprises means for supporting and rotating a log, second means to discharge a log therefrom, preferably but not necessarily, along a pathway parallel to the axis of a log supported by the first means, a udebarking unit roperable to remove the bark from the log with relative parallel movements between the log and the unit being provided to cause the bark to be removed from one end of the rotating log to the other, and loading means movable at right angles to and intersecting the axis lof'the rotating log and operable to land a log onto the first means and preferably to transfer a debarked log therefrom to the second means.

Such apparatusenables the logs to be efficiently debarked, and the loading and unloading means adapted for other uses or with other equipment. Other objectives of the invention are concerned with certain features relating to efficiency, economy of construction, or both.

In the accompanying drawings, an illustrative embodimerit of the invention is shown from which these and other of its objectives, novel features, and advantages will be readily apparent.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is an end View, of log debarking apparatus in FIG. 6 is a vertical section thereof on the line 66 of FIGURE 5;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view of the debarker unit showing a hood and adjustable shoes therefor;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of another loader, and

FIGS. 9 and 10 are sections taken approximately along the indicated lines 99 and 1d1tl, respectively, of FIG. 8.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, a frame is generally indicated at and is'shown as supporting a pair ofhorizontally spaced shafts 21 midway between and below which is a third shaftl22. One of the shafts 2& is" provided with a sprocket-wheel 23 connected to a sprocket-wheel 24 of a gear box 25 by a chain 26. The'shafts 2 1 and 22are each provided with a plurality of axially spacedsets of sprocket-wheels 27 each transversely aliiiedwvithcorresponding sprocket wheels of the sets. The transversely alined sprocket wheels of each group are interconnected by chains 23 to provide means to support" and rotate a log, and, for. this purpose, the chains 28 'are'sof'proportioned andarranged that they havea'log receiving sag in their upper 7 course.

The frame 20 is shown as provided with a V-shaped way 3d for debarked logs having a slot '31 below which 3,l5%,l2 Patented Dec. 1, i964 there is provided an endless cable 32 trained over sheaves 33 and having a lug 34 for engaging a log at one end and driving it along and discharging it from the way. The shaft 35 for one of the sheaves is provided with a sprocket wheel 36 connected to the sprocket wheel 37 on the shaft 38 by the chain 39. The shaft 38 is adapted to be controlled to position the lug 34 to engage with the rear end of a debarked log and advance it until that loglis discharged. The shaft 38 is then rotated to carry the lug 34 back into its original position where it remains until another debarked log is delivered to the Way 3% and the operator wishes to discharge it from the apparatus. 7

The logs are fed to the log support by means of a loader, generally indicated at 4%. The loader 4d includes a stationary support d1 serving to receive the logs and a slide way for the generally indicated slide 42 whose side rails 43 are shown as of a box type with their ends downwardly and forwardly inclined as at 44 to provide points enabling them to be forced under a log. Pivoted in each point 44 is a lug 45 held against rearward pivoting rom the erect position shown in FIG. 1 by means of a stop 46 but pivotable forwardly into its dotted line position. The lugs 45 are so counterweighted as to have a normal erect position engaging the stops 4%. The points 4-4 and lugs 25 thus provide an efiective means of pushing a log onto the chains 28 to be debarked or, thereafter, from the chains onto the way 30. The logs are transferred in any way to the flat support 41 in position where they may be separately engaged and pushed forward onto the chains .28 by the slide lugs 45' when the slide 41 is advanced from a rearward position. Forward movement of the slide 41 is terminated when a log drops onto the chain 28 until that log is suitably debarked. Further forward movement'of the slide 41 is then effective to transfer the debarked log to the'way 3%. I

The normal position of the log loader is indicated by its solid line position shown in PEG. 1 with its extreme position being shown in that figure in broken lines. in the extreme position, a debarked log is transferred to the way 30 and movement between these positions is controlled by a shaft 47 adapted to be rotated in either direction-by means subsequently to be detailed. The shaft 47 carries a sprocket wheel 48 connected to a sprocket wheel 49 on a shaft 55 by a chain 51. Sprocket wheel 48 rotates with a drum 52 on the shaft 47, the latter 1 being rotatably supported by brackets 53 carried by the support 41. A cable 54 is trained about the drum 52 with its ends attached to the ends of the slide 42 so that the slide 42 is moved outwardly or retracted depending on the direction of rotation of the drum supporting shaft 4'7.

At the log loading side of the frame 26 there is a carriage 55 provided with supporting rollers 55 movable along a track 57 and held thereon by means of rollers 58 travelling in a track 59 adjacent the top of the frame and carried by carriage arms as. l i i The carriage 55 moves from one end of the frame 2% to the other end thereof and this movement is effected by means of a cable itrained over pulleys 62 located within and rotatably supported by the track 57 which is slotted as at 63 to permit the connection between the cable and the carriage. Rotatable with one of the pulleys is a drive shaft 64 adapted to be rotated in either direction, as will presently be explained.

Pivoted as at 65 to the upper end of the carriage is a platform 66 having at one end a motor 67 and at the other end a U-shaped frame 6% connected thereto by a pivot 69 disposed at right angles to a line parallel to thearms 84. V ends to rotatably support the pivot 86 of the log-engaging away from a log supported by chains and such positioning is effected by means of a hydraulic ram unit 71 pivotally connected to the carriage and to the platform. The frame 63 is pivoted so that it may swing relative to the rotating log but is held normally against such swinging by a pair of dogs '72 movable into and out of that operative position by a hydraulic ram unit 73 pivotally connected to the platform 66 and to the rod 74 interconnecting the dogs 72.

The log debarking unit has a pair of heads 75 and is rotatable with the shaft 76. The heads 75 are also bolted together through a plurality of groups of spacers each provided with a pair of diametrically opposed recesses 81. The spacers are arranged as two alternating series with the recesses of one series being disposed at relativeto the recesses of the spacers of ti e other series. Two spindles 82 extend through the spacers of the first series and are exposed in appropriate ones of the recesses 81 of the other series of spacers. Another two spindles are arrangedto extend through the spacers of the second series and are exposed in appropriate ones of the recesses of the spacers of the first series. Mounted on each of the spindles, where exposed, are bearings 83 for The arms 84 have bearings 35 at their other ends 87, each formed with a log-engaging head 88; In practice, each of the spindles 82 has a passageway 89 for supplying lubricant to each of the bearings 83 supported thereby, and each arm 84 has a lubricant passageway 90 effecting communication between its bearings. As shown in FIG. 7, the unit 70 is within a shield 70 attached to the sides of the platform 66 to which are attached, for vertical adjustment relative thereto, log engaging shoes 66 The frame 20 has two sides 91 and 92 inclined towards each other to direct waste to the conveyor 93. The conveyor 93 is trained over rolls 94, one of which is fast on the shaft 95 of the gear box 25.

At 95 there is indicated a motor whose shaft 97 to the gear box 25 has a member 93 having con-centric flanges 99 and 100. Shafts 101, 102 and 103 are supported in swinging mounts 104,105 and 106, respectively, carried by the unit 107 with their axes in parallel with the shaft 97 and with one end between the flanges 99 and 100. Each of these shaft ends is provided with friction wheel 108 whose diameter is somewhat less than the distance between the two concentric flanges, and at the other end of each of these shafts there is a pulley adapted to be connected to a power take-off shaft. It will be appreciated that each friction wheel has a neutral position and that its direction and speed are determined by which of the two flanges it engages. The direction of rotation of the shaft 64 and, accordingly, "the direction of travel of the log-debarking unit 70 and also the direction of rotation of and extent of travel of the log loading slide 42 are thus manually controlled from the same station by the operator.

In practice, the pulley 110 of the swinging shaft 101 is connected by a belt 111 to a pulley 112 on the shaft 38 thus to provide means for reciprocating the log ejecting lug 34 from end to end of the way 30. The pulley 113 of the swinging shaft 102 is connected by the belt 114 to the pulley 115 on the shaft 116 to the gear box 117 to which the shaft 50 isconnected, thus to complete the drive by which the log loader is reciprocated between a log receiving position in which it is out of the path of the carriage 55 into a second position in which it deposits a log on thechains 28, or a third position in which a log is pushed onto the way 30. The pulley 118 of the swinging shaft frame 106 is connected by the belt 119 to the pulley 120 on the shaft to provide means for recipros eating the carriage 50 from end to end of the frame 20.

The loader, generally indicated at 121 in 1 168.8 and 9, is generally similar to'the loader 40 but serves to make more evident certain of its features and advantages. It

will be particularly noted that its support 122 consists of a pair of transversely spaced I-beams each having a T- 'beam 123 welded therein to provide a slideway for the Wheels 124 of the slide 125. The slide 125 is below the log receiving surfaces of the support 122 which is so rugged that heavy log loads may be dumped thereon without fear of injuring the slide 125.

Where the loader is to be used in loading logs in the log rotating means and then transferring the debarked logs to the discharge chute, the needed stroke requires that the slide, 125 be dimensioned'to protrude from the slideway to the required extent. At its outer end, the slide 125 has pivoted dogs 126. These, like the lugs 45, may be counterweighted, but are also shown as held against stops 127 by springs 128 so that the dogs may pivot forwardly when the slide 125 is moved rearwardly but seat against the stops 128 when the slide is moved forwardly.

Such movement is effected as by a cable 129 that has its ends connected to the slide 125 and trained over the pulley 132 on a shaft 133'adjacent the rear end of the support and about a drum 130 on a shaft 131 adjacent the front end thereof. The shaft 131' is adapted to be rotated in one direction or the other by suitable means, such, for example, as those employed to rotate the shaft 47.

It will thus be apparent that the invention is well adapted to meet the requirements for eflicient apparatus for removing the bark from logs. It will be appreciated that the support and various other parts may be made from readily available stock and that certain parts, such as conveyors, loader, and the transmission may be used for other purposes as the apparatus is easily disconnected and assembled.

I claim: 4

In a log loader, supporting structure including a pair of parallel log receiving and supporting members, a log loader frame slidably supported by said members for movement along a pathway parallel to but below the plane defined by the supporting surfaces of said members between retracted and extended positions, the front end of said frame" including log engaging wedge points and, in said extended position, extending beyond the corresponding ends of said members and said frame also including at its forward end at least one pivoted and counterweigh'ted lug having a normal upright position in which it extends upwardly through said plane to engage and advance a log supported by said members as said frame is moved towards an extended position, said lug pivoting forwardly thus to enable said frame to be ret'ractedto position in which said lug is behind the next log to be advanced, and said supporting structure including a transverse shaft, and a cable drive connected to said shaft-and to said frame for moving said frame between said retracted and extended positions.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Evans r Apr. 7, 1903 1,379,768 Larson May 31, 1921 1,426,409 Rawson Aug. 22, 1922 1,905,387 Kirkwood Apr. 25, 1933 2,011,037 Cook Aug. 13, 1935 2,305,170 Jackson Dec. 15, 1942 2,642,904 Pearce June 23, 1953 2,679,919 De Koning June 1, 1954 2,702,570 Rothrock Feb. 22, 1955 2,821,220 Nicholson Ian. 28, 1958 2,831,317 Watkins Apr; 22, 1958 2,841,195 Fulghum July 1, 1958 2,901,011 Eaton Aug. 25, .1959 2,985,207 Cagnea; May 23, 1961 

